Cingular customers can now gain access to their existing email or IM accounts from AOL, MSN and Yahoo! through a new set of Java applications. Phone compatibility varies for email and IM, but most Motorola phones can access both. The applications are free but service charges still apply. Instant messages are billed as text messages while email works by the kilobyte.
Learn more about Mobile Email and Mobile IM.
Most consumers have 1 of these types of email accounts and it's really geared for people who are not knowledgable on setting up their POP3 accounts. Just pick a service and put in your user name and password. I deal with customers who are requesting ways to use their POP3 accounts with Cable or DSL accounts and want to recieve their email from these accounts. Most Motorola phones can be configured for these POP3 accounts provided you know the server settings.
Sure hope this is not part of a wider strategy for a walled garden. Whereby carriers are going to force us to use the applications they choose and not the ones we choose as consumers. I am familiar with OZ... it looks great but it is painfully slow. I use http://www.movamail.com on my cingular handset... its fast and easy to use.
JR